Tag: China And South Korea Summit

Three powerful Asian countries saw their leaders meet for their first summit in several years held in Seoul. This meeting of the three powerful Asian countries Japan, China and South Korea in itself was a huge accomplishment. A Chinese artist and a South Korean artist worked together to unveil a statue of great significance in the Seoul Park a few days before the arrival of the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The work is a bronze statue of 2 young girls, one Chinese and the other Korean with their hands clenched in their laps. The work represents that many Chinese and Korean women who were forced into sex slavery for Japanese soldiers during WW II.

According to the artists, this work intended to raise their voice for the many Asian women who suffered during the war and the fact has been repeatedly denied by history revisionists. The sentiment is shared by citizens in South Korea who continue to press for apologies on behalf of the army to address the aggressions of the past. Japan claims that the said issue was resolved in the 1965 treaty to normalize relations between the countries. The relationship between Japan and South Korea is still rocky and there have been very poor measures to bridge the differences. This meeting is a first attempt at friendship between the allies.

U.S. looks forward to the summit where Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the South Korean President Park Geun-Hye will meet for the very first time since they came into power. The summit is a hopeful beginning to address common issues over the years to come. The three nations have a lot in common and their economies are interdependent.